Jaffe Morning Briefing - January 10, 2017

By JAFFE COMMUNICATIONS

January 10, 2017 at 10:40 AM

OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY

TRENTON - There's really no clue what version of Gov. Chris Christie we will see at 2 p.m. today, as he delivers his last "State of the State" address in the Assembly rotunda. Will he be a lion (like early March) or a lamb (like late March)? If he's talking about fixing skyrocketing property taxes, free-falling debt ratings, fleeing taxpayers or unfunded pensions, expect it to be a hectic few months in Trenton. If he is talking about drug addiction and recovery - which has become his "safe" issue - expect all the gabbing in Trenton to be about who the next governor could be. Christie says he expects to exit the State House "loudly." Eager to learn what that means.

TRENTON - The words "upstaged" and "big-footed" leap to mind when we hear that four declared gubernatorial candidates will get a chance to put their own spin on affairs of our state today, and will do it just a few hours ahead of Gov. Chris Christie's seventh and final State of the State address. Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrats Ray Lesniak, Phil Murphy and John Wisniewski will be making personal pitches and laying out their own Jersey agendas before a few hundred political and business leaders at a NJ Advance Media luncheon in the Wyndham Garden hotel. It all streams live on NJ.Com ... perhaps under the heading: Stealing Trenton Thunder.

YOUR DRIVEWAY - When you head outside to warm your car, there could be a guy from the state Department of Environmental Protection with a clipboard, a thermometer and a stopwatch. That's because of a state law that says you can't idle your car in your own driveway for more than 15 minutes AND idling is allowed only if the temperature drops below 25 degrees, NJ 101.5 reports. Your first offense will cost $250, it doubles for the second offense and doubles again for the third offense. No clue who gets fined in their own driveway, but citations can be issued by the DEP, county environmental officers and local cops with apparently nothing else to do. Think we are making this up? Feel free to call the 24-hour hotline at 877-927-6337. And feel free to rat out the guy who lives at 354 Stockton St. in Princeton.

WALL - Aw, jeez, here we go again. PETA, which can make an animal-rights campaign out of virtually any topic, is proposing a new use for the site of the Circus Drive-in in Wall: create an "empathy museum" focusing on the plight of circus animals. Wow for taking a news story about a famous roadside drive-in that has been serving burgers, fries and grease for 62 years and pivoting it into an animal rights campaign, scoring quality news coverage such as this. Under its low-ball offer, PETA thinks the site could showcase the capture of wild animals such as tigers and elephants, as well as whips, chains, tiny cages, flaming hoops, and other implements. Or, whatever. PETA, once again, gets some free ink.

TRENTON - Finally, it looks like the state will ban the sale of supplemental baby mattresses. These are fatal products that suffocate babies who fall through the sides, yet are commonly sold. In December, the Assembly voted unanimously to support the ban, fueled by Assemblyman Jamel Holley. And, yesterday, a companion bill in the Senate, courtesy of Sen. Teresa Ruiz, unanimously passed the Senate Commerce Committee, over the howls of one mattress manufacturer who has been profiting from this crap for decades. The credit goes to Keeping Babies Safe, a non-profit organization in Warren that has persistently raised this issue, and is the reason this industry will hopefully be decimated in New Jersey. And heaps of kudos to the likes of Toys R Us, buy buy Baby, Target, Sears, Wayfair, Kmart and others, which already refuse to sell this thing.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Emergency responders sprung to action in this frozen tundra of Oregon, pulling out all the stops to rescue a cow stuck on a frozen pond on Friday. The Polk County Sheriff's Office heard the cow had fallen and couldn't get up. In freezing temperatures, they were able to lasso the cow and pull her safely off the ice. How moo-ving. Happy to report the cow is doing fine; sheriff's officers celebrated with pints of milk and extra rare T-bones.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1982 that Dave Lapham, a 259-pound guard for the Cincinnati Bengals, decided there really was no reason to wear long sleeves, even as the wind chill dipped to 59 degrees below zero in a playoff game with the San Diego Chargers, forever known as the "Freezer Bowl." Lapham, No. 62, played in the NFL for one more year, before likely dropping dead of pneumonia.

WORD OF THE DAY

Crepitate [krep-i-teyt] - verb

Definition: To make a crackling sound

Example: As Donald Trump takes his oath of office in 10 days, expect a nearby candy wrapper to crepitate.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - A development company affiliated with two apartment complexes near Neilson Street is now seeking approval for a 67-unit, six-story apartment building for a vacant lot on the street that would cover the entire lot and would exceed the four-story limit permitted in the zone.

The Community Builders, a Boston-based company doing building as Stirlingside Urban Renewal LLC, is ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Rutgers Athletics has selected Dyehard Fan Supply, an event and retail merchandise marketing and e-commerce company, as the official merchandising partner for the Scarlet Knights in a new multi-year agreement.Dyehard will handle game day and event merchandising for Rutgers Athletics.

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - Autistic students have the benefit of an expansive program of services and support both within the school system and from community resources. What happens, though, to those young adults who "age out" or graduate from high schools and still require direction and training?

The Inclusion Center of East Brunswick may provide the link that supports ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - A man arrested earlier this month on 25 charges relating to motor vehicle burglaries was no stranger to city police, having been arrest twice before on similar charges in the last 11 months.

Ryshawn Williams, 34, of New Brunswick, also was arrested in Monmouth County last March for possessing stolen property. That arrest came after his two prior apprehensions in New ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - City police are asking for the community's help to find a missing "at-risk" person.

Alvaro Chiriboga, 86, was last seen at 8:30 am on Sunday on Tunison Road. He is a Hispanic, 5-foot, 4-inches tall, weighing 120 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue "Italia" cap, striped shirt, blue pajama pants, and grey ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY

SEASIDE HEIGHTS - Sex can be an almost-religious experience, but it seems a bit excessive to copulate under a statue of the Virgin Mary in a Catholic church's outdoor prayer garden. Yet, that's where ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

MANVILLE - If marijuana becomes legal in New Jersey, here's another town where you won't be able to buy it: Manville. The mayor and council unanimously voted to prohibit any sale of weed - recreational and medicinal - within Manville's borders. The ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

STATEWIDE - Should public school students be allowed to attend schools in other towns? That's the big, controversial question in a lawsuit filed against the state that looks to end what some consider to be the worst school segregation in the nation. The ...

IN COURT - Sounds like a cheesy thing to do, but the NJ Turnpike Authority has gone to court for years trying to stop a pizzeria chain whose logo is suspiciously similar to our beloved Garden State Parkway sign. Sure, nobody wants drivers searching for an on-ramp to end ...

MOUNTAINSIDE - Oh, where to begin describing this 46-page lawsuit against two Mountainside cops? A detective sergeant placing his testicles on co-workers' food. And throwing poop-smeared toilet tissue at them. And defecating in someone's boots. And taunting with a dildo dubbed "Big Blue" he liked to wave in cops' faces, as he chased ...

ATLANTIC CITY - Happy days are here again, as the state's once gasping gaming resort is expecting sports betting will rake in $150 million to $175 million a year in new, glorious profits - courtesy of your pals on the U.S. Supreme Court. Moreover, ecstatic Stockton University officials believe, this recharged gambling mecca will bring in a whole new ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Rutgers Athletics has selected Dyehard Fan Supply, an event and retail merchandise marketing and e-commerce company, as the official merchandising partner for the Scarlet Knights in a new multi-year agreement.Dyehard will handle game day and event merchandising for Rutgers Athletics.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Eric Zwerling got a call this week from a man was living next to a fitness center, complaining he repeatedly heard the loud thud heavy free weights and medicine balls hit the floor.

The man was recovering from having a pace maker in his chest and wondering of the impact of the noise from the gym.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Local cops are investigating an incident of ‘theft by deception’ involving the Plainfield Animal Hospital.

According to the incident report filed by Officer Justin Melanson and obtained by TAPinto, residents of South Plainfield took their pet rabbit to the Park Avenue animal hospital on April 4 to be euthanized due to advanced ...

OPINION

By
LARRY WHITE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY STATE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, AND BOB GARDNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS

May 1, 2018

Dear TAPInto New Brunswick:

One of the responsibilities that parents take most seriously is protecting their children from injury, whether it is buckling seat belts in a car or wearing a helmet while riding a bike. And when their kids become teenagers and want to participate in sports or other activities, parents do everything they can to keep their sons and daughters from getting ...

BASKING RIDGE – Marion Johnson, a mathematician now known as New Jersey’s own “Hidden Figure,” took center stage at Girls Scouts Heart of New Jersey’s (GSHNJ) recent third-annual Young Women of Vision Leadership Breakfast.

Johnson inspired the crowd with her story as an engineer at NASA. It began as a journey from childhood in the segregated South ...